1. Field
The present disclosure relates to methods and apparatuses for processing a speech signal, and for example, to methods and apparatuses for processing a speech signal using a human body as a medium.
2. Description of Related Art
With recent advances in mobile device-related technologies such as smartphones, tablet personal computers (PCs), and so forth, a technique for delivering an audio signal through a human body used as a medium, by using a mobile device has been studied. In particular, attention is increasingly been given to a technique for operating a wearable device wearable on a human body in cooperation with a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet PC and delivering a speech signal through the human body used as a medium, by using the wearable device.
In the case of communication using a wearable device, the wearable device delivers speech or voice received from a communication counterpart through a user's body and transmits speech or voice of the user to the counterpart. In this case, if the wearable device outputs a received speech signal in the form of a vibration, the vibration is delivered through the body and by bringing a body part on which the user wears the wearable device into contact with the ear of the user, the user may hear the speech signal delivered through vibration. However, when vibration is delivered through the body, loss may occur in the delivered speech signal or the delivered speech signal may sound unclear due to being contaminated by noise, depending on medium characteristics of the body.
The user may also transmit a speech signal to the counterpart through a microphone mounted on the wearable device. The wearable device uses a strong vibration to apply an audio signal to the body, and when the user inputs the speech signal through the microphone, a generated vibration is input again to the microphone together with the speech signal, causing an echo and thus degrading sound quality.
Therefore, when a speech signal is delivered and input by using a body as a medium, proper processing of the speech signal is required.